Эрин Хантер: Bluestar's Prophecy

Stormtail padded toward them and halted. “They look better with their eyes open,” he commented. His mew rumbled so deeply it sounded more like a growl.

“Do you see?” Moonflower prompted. “They both have blue eyes like you.”

Yes! Bluekit stretched her eyes wider so her father could admire them, but he hardly seemed to glance at her before he turned back to Moonflower. “They look like they’ll make good warriors.”

“Of course they will,” Moonflower purred. “They’re your kits.”

Bluekit stepped forward. “Was it hard to catch that squirrel?” She wanted Stormtail to look at her again. He might notice how much her pelt was like his.

He looked down at her and blinked. “Fat squirrels are easy to catch.”

“Will you teach us how to catch squirrels?” Snowkit asked, her tail stirring up the dust behind her.

“Your mentors will teach you,” Stormtail replied. “I hope Pinestar chooses well for you.”

Who would he choose? As Bluekit’s gaze wandered to the warriors’ den, the branches quivered and Adderfang padded out. With mews of delight, Leopardkit and Patchkit pounced on him. Leopardkit clung to her father’s tail while Patchkit landed squarely on his shoulders. Adderfang staggered and, with an exaggerated grunt of surprise, collapsed dramatically to the ground. Leopardkit and Patchkit leaped onto his belly, squeaking, but Adderfang tumbled them off with a purr and chased them away behind the den.

Stormtail glanced toward the commotion, his ears twitching. Bluekit thought perhaps he was imagining playing with his own kits like that once he got to know them better.

“Pinestar has asked me to share prey with him,” Stormtail told Moonflower.

Bluekit blinked. “Now?” Is he leaving already ? “Can we come with you?”

Stormtail’s gaze flashed toward her, and she flinched when she saw the mixture of alarm and discomfort in his eyes. Doesn’t he like us ?

“Kits should stay near the nursery,” he muttered.

Bluekit’s heart sunk as he turned to pad away, then swelled with hope when he paused and looked back over his shoulder. Has he changed his mind ?

“Stonepelt told me you woke him up yesterday,” he growled. “Stay out of the warriors’ den.” He swung his head around and walked off.

Bluekit stared after him, hollow with disappointment.

Moonflower smoothed her tail along Bluekit’s ruffled flank. “Stormtail was only giving you advice,” she meowed. “So you’ll know better next time.”

Bluekit stared at her paws, wishing she’d never made such a stupid mistake.

Snowkit was skipping around her mother. “Of course we’ll know better next time. Does he think we’re mouse-brained?” She stopped and blinked. “He must be a really, really important warrior if Pinestar wants to share prey with him.”

“He is.” Moonflower watched as Stormtail picked up the squirrel he’d caught and carried it to the ThunderClan leader. Then she looked at Bluekit, her eyes warm. “He’ll probably have more time later.”

Bluekit lifted her chin. “He said we’d make good warriors!” Secretly vowing to prove him right, she pushed away the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Moonflower!” A mew of greeting startled Bluekit. She turned to see a speckled gray tom with pale blue eyes ambling out from a tunnel of ferns. “Did the great warrior meet his kits?”

Moonflower narrowed her eyes. “Of course.”

Snowkit’s eyes lit up. “Are you Goosefeather?”

“How did you guess?”

“That’s the medicine cats’ den, isn’t it?” Snowkit pointed her nose toward the fern tunnel. “So you must be.”

The tom sat down. “How do you know I wasn’t just visiting Goosefeather?” he sniffed.

“Then we’d have seen you go in!” Snowkit answered. “We’ve been sitting here for ages .”

“Really?” Goosefeather looked at Moonflower.

Moonflower’s tail flicked.

Bluekit sniffed the medicine cat. “You smell like Featherwhisker.” The tang of strange plants clung to his pelt along with the scent of musty bedding. “He says you know the name of every herb in the forest.”

“I do.” Goosefeather began washing his face.

Snowkit pushed past her. “ Mumblefoot says you—”

“Let’s not worry about what Mumblefoot says,” Moonflower silenced her daughter.

Goosefeather stopped washing, his eyes twinkling. “I’m always curious about anything Mumblefoot has to say.”

Bluekit weaved around her sister, drawing her tail across Snowkit’s mouth. “He says you go out picking herbs nearly every day,” she mewed.

A purr rumbled in Goosefeather’s throat. “This one’s smart.”

“ I am, too!” Snowkit insisted.

“Of course!” Goosefeather’s whiskers twitched. “You’re Moonflower’s kit, and she’s the smartest cat I know.” His gaze flicked briefly to Stormtail. “About most things, anyway.” He rolled onto his back and began rubbing his shoulders against the warm, rough earth. “It’s good to see newleaf again.”

Bluekit liked this tom. He was funny and friendly. She was glad they were kin.

“What else do you do?” Snowkit asked eagerly.

Goosefeather sat up and smoothed his whiskers with a paw. “Apart from keeping the whole Clan healthy?”

Bluekit heard her mother sigh. Wasn’t she proud of her littermate?

“I interpret signs from StarClan,” Goosefeather went on.

Bluekit pricked her ears. “What sort of signs?”

Goosefeather shrugged. “The clouds, for example.”

Bluekit scrunched her eyes and looked up. The bright blue sky was encircled by trees and flecked with soft white clouds scudding fast overhead.

Goosefeather cleared his throat. “I can tell just by looking that StarClan sees kits hurrying toward becoming ’paws.”

A mottled tabby tom, padding by, glanced sideways at the medicine cat.

Goosefeather nodded at the tom. “Hello, Adderfang.”

“ Another prophecy?” Adderfang meowed archly.

Bluekit blinked at the warrior. Didn’t he believe in prophecies?

Snowkit could hardly keep her paws still. “Kits becoming ’paws? Does that mean us?”

“It might,” Goosefeather meowed.

Adderfang snorted as he padded away.

Bluekit tilted her head. “How do you know StarClan means the message for you and not some other Clan?”

“It comes with experience.” Goosefeather turned his muzzle toward the fern tunnel. “Do you want to see the medicine den?”

Bluekit plucked at the ground. “Oh, yes, please!” It was the one part of the camp she hadn’t seen yet.

“Moonflower!” Pinestar called to the queen.

“Coming!” Moonflower glanced around uncertainly at Goosefeather. “Can you manage these two by yourself for a moment?”

We don’t need managing! Bluekit thought indignantly.

“Of course,” Goosefeather meowed.

As Moonflower headed away to join Stormtail and Pinestar, Goosefeather led Bluekit and Snowkit through the cool green tunnel of ferns and into a grassy clearing with a small pool at one edge. The tang of herbs filled the air, and the grass was specked with stray bits of leaves that Bluekit didn’t recognize. Ferns closed in on every side except for one where a tall rock stood, split down the middle by a crack wide enough for a cat to make its den inside.

A croaking mew called from an opening in the ferns.

“Smallear is recovering from an adder bite,” Goosefeather explained as he padded toward the patient hidden inside the soft green walls. “Luckily it was a small adder, but it’ll be another day or two before the poison’s out of his system.” He disappeared through the ferns. “I won’t be long.”